


McKinley

by xoxoxo



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: BOM10DayChallenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23598301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xoxoxo/pseuds/xoxoxo
Summary: Elder McKinley has a Hell Dream. Elder Price learns just what that entails.
Relationships: Elder "Connor" McKinley/Kevin Price
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	McKinley

Kevin was startled awake by the sound of... was that screaming? Not blood curdling, murderous screaming, but screams blended with cries blended with moans. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest. Warnings of scorpions, robbers, and occasionally murderers danced across his memory. Over the course of the last few weeks, he hadn’t given her words much thought. Now, though...

His first instinct was to look himself over, and then his companion. He was okay, he thought, patting down his chest quickly. Elder Cunningham slept soundly. How was Elder Cunningham sleeping through the- the screams? He thought maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him. His dreams had taken a darker twist over the last few weeks. For a moment, he thought he must be hallucinating, but as the sleep-induced fog was lifted, the sounds continued.

He stood quietly and grabbed the bat his parents insisted he keep under his bed. His stomach twisted and turned, but the sound continued. He carefully opened his door and peeked out. In the hallway, Elder Church and Elder Neeley emerged from their rooms, exchanging a quick glance. He held onto his weapon but joined them.

“What is it?” he whispered to Neeley, who stood anxiously. He wasn’t terrified, though, or running, or bleeding, or any of the other things Kevin’s mind was supplying. He also was making no move to stop whatever was happening behind the door at the end of the hall. The screams continued. 

“That’s Elder McKinley,” he whispered back. Kevin’s eyes widened momentarily. The district leader seemed so… happy. Like, all the time. He felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. Why was no one worried about him? “Elder Poptarts will deal with it,” he continued, taking a step back into his room. “It’s just a nightmare. You should go back to bed.”

Elder Church nodded, but Kevin wasn’t convinced. Surely they would _help_ him? Even if it was just a nightmare, they weren’t going to just… to just go back to bed, and pretend he wasn’t suffering two rooms over? 

As if reading his mind, Elder Church whispered, “Elder McKinley said it’s best we just ignore it. Sometimes when it’s really bad he gets loud like this, but we’re supposed to just go to bed and he says we can put on music if it’s hard to sleep.” He must have noticed Kevin’s hesitation at that, because he reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Elder Thomas will get it sorted out.” 

Kevin nodded. It didn’t sound like it was being sorted out, he thought, as the others closed their doors. He heard the soft melodic notes come from Elder Church’s room shortly after, but he did not follow suit. Instead, he found himself sucking in a tense breath and setting down his bat. He urged his feet not to do this, that this wasn’t a good idea, but it was out of his control.

At the district leader’s door, he could hear better.

“Connor!” That was Elder Poptarts. “ _Please_ wake up! It’s just a dream! Buddy! Wake up!” Each word was disjointed, separated by pained cries. 

Kevin ran his fingers through his hair. He waited at the door, listening, and working to settle his stomach by pure force of will. Elder Poptarts was _trying_. He was trying so hard, but it was futile. Not knowing what his part in this was but knowing that he couldn’t listen to Elder McKinley cry for another moment without intervening, Kevin found his spine and knocked twice.

Almost instantly, a frantic looking Elder Poptarts opened the door. His eyes were wide. “I can’t get him to wake up,” he said, a panic in his voice. “It’s never- I’m so sorry for waking you. It’s never been this bad!”

Kevin peered around him as Elder McKinley screamed, his body curling up tighter, his teeth grinding together. 

“It’s okay,” Kevin whispered, moving past him. He approached the bed slowly. “Is it dangerous? Has he ever like… tried to hit you or anything when you wake him up?” He thought he'd seen that on a TV show once. 

Elder Poptarts shook his head. “No. But it’s never been this bad.”

Kevin nodded. “Okay.” 

He leaned over the bed and placed a hand on Elder McKinley’s shoulder. He could feel the familiar electricity at the touch; the one that he felt every time they shook hands, or bumped shoulders, or accidentally let their fingers touch when passing the butter in the mornings. Kevin could have sworn that, for at least a very brief moment following the initial contact, there was a shift in Elder McKinley’s cries.

“Elder McKinley,” Kevin said, shaking his shoulder gently. Then again, a little louder, “Elder McKinley, you need to wake up.” Without warning, Elder McKinley grabbed Kevin’s wrist, almost painfully, as he cried out. _Oh, God._ Had he hurt him? Scared him? He pulled back immediately, not sure of what his touch on his shoulder was doing to him, but painfully aware that it had, at minimum, upset him _more_. Suddenly he wished he hadn’t come. At least Poptarts wasn’t making it _worse._

Nails dug into Kevin’s skin as Elder McKinley held tight, and the screaming continued. So Kevin did all he could think to do: wearing a mask of calm, he looked up at Elder Poptarts, with careful effort to keep his wrist (and Elder McKinley's iron-clad grip on it) concealed from view. “Can you give us a few minutes?” he asked.

Elder Poptarts seemed eager to take the out. “Of course, yeah. He might… he might be upset that I-” He paused. “If you do get him to wake up… can you just- Just… tell him I tried really hard, okay? That I’m sorry.”

Kevin smiled, despite the quickly tightening grip on his arm. “He won’t be angry with you,” he said. “But I’ll tell him.”

And then he was alone in the room with his district leader, who by day, was actively destroying his life with his cute freckles and crooked smile, but who by night, was covered in sweat and shaking and crying and screaming and would not wake up.

Kevin changed his tactic. He thought about the electricity. He hoped maybe Elder McKinley felt it too. That maybe every time they accidentally touched it wasn’t an accident on either end. That maybe when he grabbed his shoulder, maybe that _had_ helped. 

So, ignoring the increasing pain at his wrist, he looked for skin. Elder McKinley’s free hand was buried under his stomach, but the way he was curled up so tight, the back of his neck… Could he do this? Was this a massive invasion of personal space?

Elder McKinley screamed, one of the louder, piercing screams that had previously woken the whole house. And Kevin’s heart, pounding inside of him, took hold momentarily. His fingers brushed the matted, damp curls off of Elder McKinley’s neck and rested there, gently, his thumb finding his district leader’s jaw, just below his ear.

“Elder McKinley,” Kevin said again, softer this time. He knelt down next to the bed, encouraged as the screams eased. His fingers felt the surge of energy under them. Elder McKinley gasped for breath, groaning and crying, but not screaming. “Wake up, buddy,” Kevin said, sweeping the hair off of his forehead and lingering there. 

If he was wrong about all this, he thought he could maybe play it off. He was an expert at maneuvering his way out of things that he wasn’t supposed to be doing. For now, he kept talking. Urging him to wake up. Telling him it was just a dream. That he was okay. 

And eventually the cries turned into moans, and the moans turned into whimpers, and the whimpers grew silent. Kevin wasn’t sure how long it took, but he sat there, combing his fingers through the drenched red curls, letting his knuckles trail along the pale jawline, and accepting that he was very thoroughly on the path to hell.

Once Elder McKinley was calmer, Kevin tried again. “Elder McKinley,” he said, and he, very carefully, put some pressure on his shoulder. When his dark brown eyes slowly opened, Kevin pulled his hand away. A look of relief first crossed Elder McKinley’s features, followed immediately by confusion as his pupils adjusted to the darkness. 

“Elder Price?” he croaked. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes were red and swollen, but he was awake. His focus shifted to Kevin’s wrist, where his hand still clutched tightly, and he released it. 

Kevin pulled it away quickly, running his fingers over the skin there, not because it hurt, but because there was a feeling now of emptiness. 

“Oh my god,” Elder McKinley said, his voice a gasp. “Did I hurt you?” There was a panic in his tone, his eyes wide and staring at the redness, which would almost definitely bruise. It didn’t hurt, but Kevin wasn’t certain that Elder McKinley would hear that right then. Elder McKinley sat up, bringing his knees to his chest, and buried his head between them. Kevin could see his shoulders shaking as his fingers dug into his legs.

“I’m fine,” Kevin said, moving next to him. “Hey.” He bumped his shoulder playfully into Elder McKinley’s, and Elder McKinley turned his head, just enough so that Kevin could see the tears starting to form there. “I swear, I am _fine_.” He carefully brought his hand up to Elder McKinley’s shoulder and rested it there. “Please, let me see your face.” 

Elder McKinley took a deep breath and released his own iron grip on his legs, letting his feet fall to the floor and his tear-streaked cheeks get some air. “What are you doing here?” he asked slowly. Kevin watched as his hand found his throat, probably so sore from the screaming, and then ran through his hair.

“You’ve been… this has been going on for a while now.” Kevin said. “Elder Poptarts tried to wake you, but…”

“I wouldn’t wake up?” His voice was raw but concerned, apologetic almost. His eyes once more darted to Kevin’s wrist. 

Kevin smiled but shook his head. 

“Shit,” he said. “I’m sorry. This is- I didn’t want you to see this. You shouldn’t- you shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“I just couldn’t stand out there and listen to you screaming, and I couldn’t lay in bed and listen to you screaming, so I thought I’d give Poptarts a break and sit with you.”

Elder McKinley looked at him then. He really just stared at him, eyes wide and expression shifting. He was fighting a losing battle to keep his tears contained; his eyes turned redder and his neck turned redder and his face… it was the face of someone trying desperately not to lose it, but not succeeding. Kevin watched it happen, knowing it was coming and just wishing he could wrap that boy up in his arms and make sure he knew he didn’t have to be alone here. 

“It’s okay,” Kevin said, his eyes going briefly to where Elder McKinley’s fingers fidgeted tirelessly. He wasn’t sure if he had said the right thing or the wrong thing, but suddenly Elder McKinley fell into him, and his arms, without his permission, wrapped themselves around his shaking shoulders. And his hands, also without his permission, found themselves weaving into Elder McKinley’s hair, pulling his head in closer. And his heart, very much without his permission, beat so wildly that he was sure that Elder McKinley could feel it, with how close he was.

“You’re okay,” Kevin said, the smell of Elder McKinley’s hair assaulting his senses. If he lived another hundred years, he would never forget the smell of his hair.

“What happened?” Kevin whispered then, and Elder McKinley pulled back.

“It was just a… it was just a bad dream. They’ve been getting worse these past few weeks. About… about things.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kevin asked earnestly. It seemed like Elder McKinley was guarding this, though, and Kevin could accept that. They hardly knew each other.

“I don’t even remember it all. It was stupid, it just… my mind just sometimes goes a little in its own direction when I sleep. Usually it’s not that bad.”

“Okay,” Kevin said. They sat in silence, Kevin’s arms surprisingly strong and sure around Elder McKinley’s shaking body. 

It was Elder McKinley who eventually broke the hug, with Elder Thomas outside the door and the hours of the night dwindling quickly. “You should try to get some sleep,” he said, sounding not at all that happy with the idea. Kevin was pretty sure they both knew that there was no more sleep to be gotten, but navigating this new climate was something that he needed to spend some time unpacking. 

“You’re probably right,” Kevin said.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Your wrist… It doesn't hurt too bad, does it?” Elder McKinley stared at the spot once more, but Kevin smiled.

“I swear, I’m fine. I can’t even feel it.”

Elder McKinley nodded, his eyes still swollen and red, his lips, usually turned into the most genuine, warm smile, now tense with barely constrained quivers. “Okay. Thank you, again, for… helping me.”

“Don’t, it’s- You’d have done it for any of us.” He made himself turn then, and he kept his hands at his side, as much as they longed to just... touch Elder McKinley one more time. This wasn't the end of this. It was the beginning of something, he thought, but he wasn't sure what. 

“Tomorrow,” Elder McKinley said, just as Kevin had almost reached the door. “Would you want to… Um, can we… Can we maybe just- go for a walk? Talk about… things?”

Kevin smiled in spite of the anxiety of the evening. “Yes,” he said, trying to do the thing where he kept his voice was very calm and casual but not really sure if he was nailing it. “I’d like to… I think that sounds really nice.” 

As he walked back to his room, he couldn’t wipe the memories from his mind even if he wanted to. Elder McKinley felt it, too.The electricity. The longing. And Elder McKinley wanted to go for a _walk_ with him. He didn’t know what it all _meant_ , but he couldn't wait to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: all-american-prophet
> 
> please leave me comments I <3 them.


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